HomeMy WebLinkAboutSaratoga News article -Mills ActPhotograph by George Sakkestad
Phylis Ballingall, chairwoman of the Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission, evaluates the salt box house on Big Basin Way,
built in 1875, to determine its historical elements. Property owners may be eligible to participate in the Mills Act, which would give
owners of historical buildings a tax break.
Owners of historic homes get a tax break
Council sees the importance
of preserving city's history
By MY NGo
esidents and merchants who own his-
torical buildings in Saratoga may soon
be eligible to participate in state -spon-
sored legislation that would give them a sig-
nificant tax break.
At a city council meeting held on March 5,
Mayor Nick Streit and council members Nor-
man Kline, Kathleen King and Stan Bogosian
voted unanimously to adopt the Mills Act
Property Tax Abatement Program, which
gives local governments the right to establish
case -by -case contracts with owners of histor-
ical structures listed in the heritage resources
inventory. These contracts would require vol-
unteering applicants to maintain and preserve
their property according to specific guidelines
in exchange for a reduced property tax rate.
Barry Rodenberg, owner of the original
Hyde Farmhouse on Walbrook Drive, which
was built in 1895, said he pays approximate-
ly $13,000 a year in taxes for his property and
is looking forward to tax relief. He said that
the program is an effective incentive to
encourage owners of historical properties to
keep their buildings properly maintained,
which can be costly.
"Older homes need a lot of upkeep and
repair," said Rodenberg. "The act forces
homeowners to take care of their property."
Under the act, property owners must
adhere to restrictive guidelines. For example,
owners cannot repaint the exterior of the
building a different color or build on the
existing structure.
In addition, Rodenberg said that one of the
reasons he is an advocate of restoring older
homes is that they add to the city's appeal.
"Homes today don't have much style," he
said, "whereas older homes give the neigh-
borhood a certain character."
According to Kline, older homes add value
and flavor to the community.
"We need to keep historic homes historic,"
said Kline.
Heritage Preservation Commissioner Nor-
man Koepernik emphasized the importance
of preserving Saratoga's historical landmarks
and compared them to famous pieces of archi-
tecture found in foreign countries like Italy.
He said that just as tourists visit historical
structures in foreign places, visitors to Sarato-
ga can also have something to admire and
appreciate.
"The city has a wonderful history, and we
should gravitate back to tradition," he said. "If
we don't preserve these old houses, we'll wipe
out Saratoga's history."
Although all members at the meeting said
that they saw promise in the plan, council
members said they had some reservations
about the number of applicants to accept per
year and the monitoring process.
Under the act, which was enacted in 1972,
the city would lose approximately 60 percent
from what it would usually collect in property
tax on a historic building. For example, the city
receives approximately $1,750 on a $5,000,000
home and $350 on a property worth
$1,000,000, whereas the Mills Act would
reduce these numbers to $1,050 and $210,
respectively.
This means that the city would lose a signif-
icant amount of revenue. This, added to the
existing budget crisis, prompted council mem-
bers to change staff's recommendation of five
applications per year to three.
"This is all based on a learning curve," said
Kline. "We will have to see where it will go
from here."
While Bogosian said he was fine with allow-
ing five applicants each year, he said he was
more concerned about having commissioners
involved in the evaluation and assessment
process and said that this would "add more
work to the workload." In order to "keep the
process clean," he recommended that staff
and code enforcement officers be responsible
for making sure that property owners comply
with the guidelines.
The heritage preservation committee is
working on creating a contract. Commission-
ers anticipate this to take approximately six
months to complete.
MARCH 19, 2003 SARATOGA NEWS